Budget 2026 : In the Union Budget 2026, the government has made significant changes to simplify tax compliance for senior citizens. Form 15H will no longer need to be submitted repeatedly to avoid TDS on interest earned on bonds, debentures, and other securities held in demat form. Presenting the budget on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the move was intended to provide relief to investors who hold multiple securities in different companies.
Why Form 15H is necessary?
Form 15H is a self-declaration form. Resident senior citizens aged 60 years or older can fill it out. If their total taxable income is below the basic exemption limit, they request that TDS not be deducted through this form.
Senior citizens typically use Form 15H for their income.
- Interest from Bank FD
- Corporate Bonds and Debentures
- Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs)
- Municipal Bonds
- Interest-bearing securities held in demat
What changed in Budget 2026?
Previously, investors had to submit Form 15H to each bank, company, or bond issuer individually, which was quite a hassle.
With the Budget 2026 proposal, senior citizens can now submit Form 15H just once to their depository. The depository, like NSDL or CDSL, will automatically share this info with all the companies whose securities the investor owns. This update mainly affects bonds and debentures held in demat, not bank FDs.
What are the benefits for senior citizens?
They won’t need to keep submitting forms to different places anymore. This is a huge relief for older investors who have bonds from various companies. It will also lower the chances of TDS being wrongly deducted. There were times when forms were sent to one company but missed by another. Now, a centralized system will help fix this issue. This will make things a lot easier for bond investors, especially since many retail bond investors are senior citizens.
What hasn’t changed
It’s crucial to note that some aspects will stay the same.There’s no change in the eligibility criteria for Form 15H.The age requirement will still be 60 years.The income threshold will also remain unchanged. If a senior citizen’s taxable income goes over the exemption limit, TDS will still be deducted as it was before.
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